Closing summary
Keir Starmer has said that he wants a “serious and pragmatic” relationship with China while “being clear about the issues that we do not agree on”. Speaking to broadcasters after his meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday, the prime minister said: “I’ve been clear that I want a serious and pragmatic relationship with China. It’s the second biggest economy in the world, it’s one of our biggest trading partners, and therefore we have issues that we clearly need to discuss.”
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has heaped praise on Keir Starmer’s economic policy, as the UK prime minister used their first meeting to raise concerns about sanctions on MPs and the treatment of the pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai. In conversation at the G20 summit in Rio, the first meeting between the UK and China’s leaders in six years, Starmer said he would be keen to host a full bilateral meeting with Xi and the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, in Beijing or London as soon as possible, aimed at turning the page on frosty UK-China relations.
Meanwhile, Starmer has said there is “lots to discuss in our mutual interests as we go forward” as he met Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese at the G20. At the top of a bilateral meeting with the Australian premier, Albanese said that Australia and the UK “are “great friends, on security, on climate policy on our engagement.”
National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw said planned demonstrations are “definitely going ahead” after he met with Environment Secretary Steve Reed in parliament on Monday evening, PA Media reported. Speaking outside parliament, Mr Bradshaw told the PA news agency: “The planned demonstrations are definitely going ahead. It was a valuable meeting. It was a great opportunity to really spell out in black and white why their evidence is wrong, why it has to come forwards in consultation, and what the extreme human pressure is that this policy has created.
Starmer has said that he understands changes to inheritance tax are “causing concern” for farmers but insisted “the vast majority of farms” will not be affected. Speaking to broadcasters at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday, the prime minister said he is supporting farmers with money at the budget “alongside money to do with flooding and to do with the outbreak of disease.”
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has said she is likely to vote against the bill to legalise assisted dying, as Keir Starmer issued a veiled warning to cabinet ministers, such as Wes Streeting, to stay neutral on the issue. Starmer, speaking to reporters en route to the G20 summit in Brazil, confirmed for the first time that he would vote on the assisted dying bill later this month, but indicated he would not reveal his position in advance.
Tax rises in the budget have sapped consumer confidence and will lead to sharp reductions in private sector pay growth next year, two separate reports have said. In a blow to Rachel Reeves’s efforts to boost growth, a survey by S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that consumer confidence dropped this month after households said the outlook for the economy had deteriorated and the prospects for their own finances had worsened.
More than one in three children and a quarter of adults are living in poverty in the UK as deprivation levels rise to the highest in the 21st century, according to a landmark report. The study by the Social Metrics Commission (SMC), which uses measures recently adopted by the UK government, found the cost of living crisis had plunged 2 million more people into severe hardship since 2019.
That’s all from me, Tom Ambrose, and the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Planned demonstrations 'definitely going ahead', says NFU president
National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw said planned demonstrations are “definitely going ahead” after he met with Environment Secretary Steve Reed in parliament on Monday evening, PA Media reported.
Speaking outside parliament, Mr Bradshaw told the PA news agency: “The planned demonstrations are definitely going ahead.
“It was a valuable meeting. It was a great opportunity to really spell out in black and white why their evidence is wrong, why it has to come forwards in consultation, and what the extreme human pressure is that this policy has created.
“We have to have these conversations, but we’re really concerned that at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any action. There doesn’t seem to be any understanding from the Treasury of what they’re doing.”
Bradshaw said he was “debating the data” with the environment secretary during their meeting.
He added: “The whole focus was on this abhorrent policy that’s been put in place. We think it’s a very ill considered policy. I don’t believe that they intended the human consequences that there are within the policy they’ve put forwards.
“I don’t think they understand that family farms that are producing this country’s food are right in the eye of this storm.”
